“What made you collect this junk? And why am I not allowed to dispose it off?” Nick sounded pretty exasperated.
“I cannot see broken hearts around the junkyard tomorrow.”
“Whaddya mean by that?”
“The villagers I teach have gifted me this stuff from time to time. They put together their meagre savings to get the things you call junk. It was their way of expressing gratitude, as I did not charge a fee for making them literate.”
Nick’s voice softened, but he refused to give up.
“For how long are we supposed to retain it?”
“As long as I live.”
(100 words)
Creative Experiments and More 
Yes, how can you get rid of things that so many have sacrificed to attain in order to express their gratitude. Heartfelt piece
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Thanks, Susie!
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Lovely story.
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Thanks, Indira!
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This touched a chord in my teacher-heart. Some things you just don’t throw out.
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Glad it brought back memories! Thanks!
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Those would be tough to get rid of, that is for sure…
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I love the service-orientedness ofthe preserver of those gifts.
What a great story and a lesson that Nick will someday( hopefully) learn.
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Thank you, Moon!
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They are going to need a bigger cupboard before long if she continues to teach! Nice one Reena.
Click to read my FriFic!
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Thank you, Keith!
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She is clearly a lovely and well-loved teacher.
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Yes. Thanks, Elizabeth!
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You’ve written a subtly different take on the idea that it is the memories behind ‘junk’ that are important. You’ve refined the idea to show that the memories in this case are those that fix her in her community; she has shown a commitment to the villagers, and they have shown gratitude – and these are the tangible manifestation of that. And, as those bonds will always exist, so she wants to keep the tokens.
Nicely thought out, and well expressed.
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Thank you so much for the detailed comment!
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That’s so true Penny!
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Sweet.
Randy
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Hopefully Nick learns that value has little to do with price.
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Hopefully he imbibes the value system 🙂
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Maybe she can have it buried with her when she expires.
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I think Nick will have to accept it… there are many thing that is more important than tidying up.
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Life is all about options being available ,,, or not. Thanks, Bjorn!
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Oh, I did like that! So much to absorb.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you, Susan!
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Hard to dispose of something that means so much – I think Nick might have to learn to live with it. Well told Reena
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Thanks, Lynn!
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My pleasure 🙂
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Lovely, Reena
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This is too lovely for words, Reena.
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Thank you so much, Robbie!
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